Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) is on the warpath again. This time she issued a call for the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to investigate billionaire Elon Musk over the crime of owning both Tesla and Twitter.
Give Warren credit for at least being consistent — the radical senator has never met a successful conservative entrepreneur that she liked.
The Democrat tweeted, “Since Elon Musk took over Twitter, I’m concerned @Tesla’s board has failed to manage conflicts of interest from his role as CEO of Tesla and Twitter.” That is a blatant misstatement as Linda Yaccarino is the social media platform’s new chief executive.
'Not you again': Elon Musk responds as Elizabeth Warren presses SEC to investigate Tesla https://t.co/iF2fPlvTnC
— TheBlaze (@theblaze) July 20, 2023
Musk hired Yaccarino as Twitter CEO earlier this year after asking users if he should find someone else to take the role. A majority said yes and he kept his word, declaring that she would “focus primarily on business operations.”
He said he would shift to “product design and new technology.”
Warren further asserted that Tesla’s board is legally required to act in shareholders’ interests and that the SEC should investigate.
In typical fashion, Musk took the senator’s attack in stride. He tweeted, “Not you again. Can we please be friends please please?” In another tweet he asked, “What is your favorite Halloween outfit?”
Warren’s tirade is a continuance of complaints she expressed last year targeting Tesla. In a letter to the electric vehicle’s board, she voiced concerns that the board did not live up to its “legal duty.”
The Democrat referenced that writing on Monday, saying the Tesla board has thus far “refused to provide answers.”
After sending the letter, Warren added that “Mr. Musk’s personal wealth — and his personal relationships with board members — do not shield him or the Tesla board from meeting basic SEC governance and disclosure rules.”
It was early last year when the leftist senator charged that Musk, who is generally recognized as the world’s richest man, paid no federal income taxes in 2018. He reportedly gets by on loans taken on Tesla shares received as stock options.
Musk did not roll over for this previous attack either, but struck back again with humor. “Will visit the IRS next time I’m in D.C. just to say hi, since I paid the most taxes ever in history for an individual last year. Maybe I can have a cookie or something…”
The entrepreneur’s tax bill for 2021 is estimated to be at least $11 billion.
